Spring time in Australia is usually the time we celebrate Homebirth Awareness Week.
Quite often we will have picnics, gatherings of homebirth families and media promotions.
During the festivities at the St George Hospital in Sydney, midwives and mothers celebrated one of the first government-backed publicly funded homebirth programs to be made available to the “low risk” normal healthy pregnant women in the region.
Many women have been able to birth their babies safely at home with the amazing midwives who provide above and beyond duty to this terrific program.
If you wish to have your baby on the publicly funded homebirth program you need to contact St George Hospital Birth Centre Midwives “as soon as you are pregnant” to be able to be early enough as places are very limited.
Here is a list of hospitals or health services that provide Medicare funded access to home birth.
Belmont Birthing Service Homebirth Program – Freestanding birth centre within Belmont Hospital, also offering a homebirth service.
Belmont District Hospital
Croudace Bay Rd, Belmont
Ph: (02) 4923 2204
Midwifery Coordinator: Carolyn Hastie, 0428 112 786
St George Hospital Homebirth Service – The hospital has a homebirth service aka the maternity outreach program.
St George Hospital
Gray Street, Kogarah
Ph: (02) 9113 1111
Robin Skewes CMC at Tamworth Base Hospital – is authorised to attend homebirths through the public system.
South Australia
Midwifery Group Practice WCH – Midwife-led care model, offering known midwife plus back-up midwife through pregnancy, birth (in hospital or home) and first six weeks postnatal.
Women’s and Children’s Hospital (public)
72 King William Rd, North Adelaide
ph: (08) 8161 7819
Book in via first appointment with Women’s Outpatients Clinic on (08) 8161 7592
contact – [email protected]
http://www.wch.sa.gov.au/services/
Northern Women’s Community Midwifery Program – Offers known midwife plus back-up through pregnancy, birth and first 4-6 weeks postnatal. Located within Northern Women’s Community Health Centre.
28 Philip Highway, Elizabeth
ph: (08) 8252 3711
Western Australia
Community Midwifery Programme – run via Community Midwifery WA based in Fremantle Community Midwifery Programme (CMP) Community based midwife-led service, providing continuity of care throughout pregnancy, birth and postnatally.
Unit 1, 40 Pearse Street, North Fremantle
ph: 08 9430 6882
336 Oxford St, Leederville
ph: 08 9242 3330
http://www.cmwa.net.au/
Northern Territory
Community Midwifery Practice & Homebirth Service – Northern Territory government supported home birth service within the Community Health Branch of the Department of Health & Community Services (DHCS).
Darwin: (mobile) 0417 810 535
Alice Springs: (mobile) 0401 114 188
